SimpeloInterpersonal+Activity

=The Human Color Wheel.= by Virgil Simpelo

Purpose
This activity teaches the basic divisions of the color wheel. It also can serve as a quick group activity to introduce classmates and a kinesthetic activity to help memorize color wheel principles.

Time Required
10-20 minutes.

Number of Participants
6 mimimum, 12 optimal/maximum with a 12 color wheel. The game can include more people if the facilitator adds more colors to the wheel.

Supplies Needed
Colored 8.5x11 sheets of paper with the name of the color. Colors include red, blue, yellow, orange, violet, green, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, yellow-orange, yellow-green, and blue-green.

Preparation
The facilitator needs to make sure the information for primary, secondary, teriary, complementary, analogous and triads correlating to each color is on the back of the paper.

Introduction
An important part of making your art stand out is color. This activity will help you understand where colors are located on the color wheel and what colors go together to create asthetic combinations. The first thing to know is that this color wheel is based on visible light or what you can see with a sufficient amount of light. This color wheel starts with red, blue and yellow. These are called the **primary colors**.
 * Secondary colors** are created when you mix the primary colors with one another.
 * Teriary colors** are produced from combining primary colors and secondary colors.
 * Complementary colors** sit opposite each other on the color wheel.
 * Analogous colors** are colors that lie next to each other on the color wheel.
 * Triads** are any 3 colors equal distance from each other on the color wheel.

I will call out a particular set of colors and people holding those colors will begin to form a circle. If you are not sure what category you belong to, you can read the information provided for you on the back of your color sheet. Once we start adding more people, you will have to look for your corresponding color groups. You also will have a time limit of 1 minute to find your color partners. When I call for complementary colors, you must stand next to your partner with the opposite color. When I ask for analogous and triads, you should have 3 people in your group.

Process
Step by step, describe what the facilitator and the participants will be doing. If appropriate, estimate the number of minutes each step will take. The facilitator will call out categories of the color wheel. Once the participants are arranged in the correct sequence, the facilitator will call out the next category and the participants have to move around to the correct position. The first 2 commands should take about a minute to get in position. The facilitator will decide which combination he/she desires to call out. The default example is as follows: I. Primary (only 3) II. Secondary III. Teriary IV. Complementary V. Analogous VI. Triads.

Other categories can include warm colors and cool colors. This activity can go several rounds by exchanging colors with participants and then starting the activity over again.

Debrief
List questions the facilitator should ask to solidify what is learned in this activity. "What changes when you add more colors to the wheel?" "What combinations did not fit if you didn't get to your position on time? What did work?" "Can you think of a piece of artwork that you like that your color was in?" "What other colors were in that piece and can you identify if they were complementary, analogous, etc?"

Credits
This was an in-class activity I tried with my art students. I'm sure this is not an original idea, but I thought of it to do a kinesthetic activity to introduce color.